My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:1-5
I love the book of Proverbs. I especially appreciate sections like this where a father is offering wisdom to his son. How we need parents who are willing to instruct their children in the wisdom of God, especially as they are bombarded with the often-anemic and empty wisdom of the world. What is the wisdom the father shares at the beginning of the second chapter of Proverbs? Pursue Godly wisdom with all that you are! Pursue understanding and divine truth with unreserved passion, as if you were searching for hidden treasure. Recently, in our Renton Gospel Network pastors’ lunch, this Scripture was shared as a devotional thought preceding our time of prayer. What we realized, as we grappled with this passage and applied it to our own lives, is that our desire for God and for the things of God is too often weak and changeable. Certainly, there are times when we feel the longing for God, when we are moved to want more of Him, like times of sweet worship where we truly sense the presence of God or, at the other extreme, times of bitter grief when we cannot help but cry out for God. But all too often, we are so busy in “other” pursuits that the pursuit of God and the things of God are minimized and marginalized. To make room for what? A funny show or a thrilling drama, time for playing at whatever we like to play at, the never-ending pursuit of more…more money, more recognition, more power. The eternal, life-transforming, deeply fulfilling things of God are brushed aside in our quest for distraction, entertainment, a temporary high. Certainly, “other” pursuits can be healthy and good, when put in their proper place. But too often we allow what is good to supersede what is best. Think Martha! She was so distracted by the “good” of showing hospitality to her guests (including the God of all creation, no less!), that she asked Jesus to chastise her sister Mary for doing nothing but sitting at Jesus’ feet, soaking in His words. Jesus chastised, alright…not Mary, but Martha…indicating that Mary had chosen what is best (Luke 10:38-42). How do we counteract this tendency to allow the good to become the enemy of the best? How do we heed this fatherly advice in our own lives, making our pursuit of God and the things of God our highest goal each and every day? How do we cultivate a zeal for God that supersedes our zeal for other “treasures”? First, we need to surround ourselves with the wise. As we read in Proverbs 13:20, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Sadly, we don’t need to seek out the companionship of fools…it’s all around us…on our phones, computers, tvs, print media and around the “water cooler.” Obviously, there are some things that we do well to cut out of our lives. But a key to surrounding ourselves with the wise is making choices, sometimes difficult choices, to prioritize opportunities to hear from those who prioritize Godly wisdom, be it found in a book, in a men’s or women’s fellowship, or in a community or life group. Second, we need to prioritize the regular opportunity to immerse ourselves in the Story of God alongside the people of God on the Sabbath of God. The self-absorbed, humanistic stories of this world are playing on a constant loop every day of our lives. It is for this reason that we need regular, set apart time with God’s people where we can be reminded to daily make Jesus the Hero of our stories; to trade in the selfish pursuit of personal pleasure for the pursuit of that which produces real joy in us, in others, and in God; and to cast off the pursuit of success which depends on my scheming, my accomplishments, my power, for authentic fulfillment sourced in God’s plan, God’s purposes, God’s power. Finally, we need to make the pursuit of God a reality in our lives by daily seeking to understand and obey His Word. Granted, there are times when we don’t feel like making time with God a priority. But this is true of just about any discipline or habit that is good for us! Yet, also true, are the blessings we experience when we overcome worldly inertia by the power of the Spirit so that we might learn to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength! How attractive the shiny things of this world can seem. But there is no worldly treasure that can begin to compare with the treasure we find in a growing walk with Christ. May we take our cue from Mary and put this pursuit above all others. May we put to the test the offer we find in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
June 2022
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